Reactions by Conservative Organizations and Leaders to President Trump's Supreme Court Nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch

Reactions from some conservative organizations and leaders around the country concerning President Trump’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to the United States Supreme Court:

John Malcolm, Elizabeth Slattery, and Tiffany Bates of The Heritage Foundation: Gorsuch is an eminently qualified and well-respected judge with a record that demonstrates he cares about religious liberty, the separation of powers, and the original public meaning of the Constitution and the laws he interprets. He would be a fine successor to Scalia. 

Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute: Gorsuch is an originalist, always looking to the original meaning of the Constitution and its structural protections for liberty. 

He’s also a textualist, with a strong command of how to interpret statutes according to their plain meaning — in particular construing them narrowly when they involve criminal penalties, like Scalia did. Also like Scalia, Gorsuch isn’t a fan of legislative history, noting “the difficulties of trying to say anything definitive about the intent of 535 legislators and the executive.” 

Pacific Legal Foundation: “Judge Gorsuch is superbly well qualified to serve on the Supreme Court and his prior opinions demonstrate a careful effort to enforce the text of the Constitution and laws as they are written,” said Todd Gaziano, Executive Director of PLF’s DC Center and Senior Fellow in Constitutional Law. “Federal judges, especially justices of the Supreme Court, play an essential role in protecting individual rights guaranteed by the Constitution, including property rights, economic liberty, freedom of speech, and other limits on the power of government regulators." 

National Rifle Association: During his tenure on the Tenth Circuit, Gorsuch has demonstrated his belief that the Constitution should be applied as the framers intended.  To that end, he has supported the individual right to self-defense.  Specifically, he wrote in an opinion that "the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to own firearms and may not be infringed lightly." 

Americans for Prosperity: A qualified, experienced choice for the Supreme Court, Judge Gorsuch’s long record illustrates his respect for the rule of law. He does not legislate from the bench, but instead believes that judges should follow the law as it is written. Throughout his career he’s shown his commitment to protecting the Constitution and defending our freedoms. At Americans for Prosperity, we believe these values will serve him well as a member of the Supreme Court and as a replacement for the late Justice Scalia. 

Public Interest Legal Foundation: “This selection should hearten any believer that the role of the judiciary is to consider what the law says—not what it should say,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “Former colleagues speak of Judge Gorsuch’s tested adherence to the honorable tradition of strict constructionism just like the late Justice Antonin Scalia before him. The Rule of Law is on firmer ground tonight, and we will have Judge Gorsuch to thank for that." 

Concerned Women for America: “Judge Neil Gorsuch is a superb choice. President Trump has kept his word and nominated someone who, by all indications, is “in the mold of Justice Scalia,” something the president repeated over and over during his campaign. 

Judicial Watch: President Trump’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court is a victory for Americans who are fed up with corrupt judicial activism.  The judicial branch needs as much draining as the rest of the federal government swamp. President Trump avoided the temptation to nominate yet another politician to the Supreme Court.  It is good we have a nominee who has a demonstrated record of applying the rule of law rather than legislating from the bench.  The U.S. Senate should swiftly confirm him. 

Ramesh Ponnuru of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI): President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court will be Neil Gorsuch, a well-respected conservative whose legal philosophy is remarkably similar to that of Antonin Scalia, the justice he will replace if the Senate confirms him. He is, like Scalia, a textualist and an originalist: someone who interprets legal provisions as their words were originally understood. 

The Buckeye Institute: The Buckeye Institute's President Robert Alt said the following: "Judge Neil Gorsuch's approach to the law is, well, judicious. Gorsuch has said that judges ought to declare what the law is, not what 'they might wish it to be in light of their own political views.' The commonsense of Gorsuch's judicial philosophy is refreshing in the overly politicized climate of Washington these days." 

Jim Daly of Focus on the Family: I am greatly encouraged by the President’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the untimely death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year. President Trump included Judge Gorsuch on his list of potential justices during his campaign, and he kept his promise to choose a candidate from the list.

RNLA joins with these fine organizations and thought leaders in praising President Trump for his nomination of Judge Gorsuch to Justice Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court and calling for his swift confirmation without partisan bickering.